Finnish PM Petteri Orpo kickstarts official visit to China

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has landed in the Chinese capital for a state visit from January 25th to 28th at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang.

Beijing says it stands ready to elevate bilateral relations to a new height, maintain close high-level exchanges, and foster mutual understanding and collaboration in multilateral affairs.

Orpo will meet President Xi Jinping and hold separate talks with Premier Li and Zhao Leji, Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, to exchange views on their ties as well as issues of common concern.

The two countries' bilateral trade topped 8 billion US dollars in value last year with mutual investment stock exceeding 23 billion dollars.

China and Finland are slated to sign a memorandum of understanding strengthening the work of their Committee for Innovative Business Cooperation, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Executives from over 20 Finnish companies spanning machinery, forestry, innovation, clean energy and food are accompanying Orpo during the visit.

A slew of business cooperation agreements are expected to be signed between enterprises from both sides.